Hunting with a bow and arrow is a popular and timeless approach for killing various types of wild game. Animals such as deer, turkey, bears, squirrels, rabbits, and the like are all hunted using a bow and arrow. Target shooting with a bow and arrow is also very popular.
Various arrow rest devices have been developed to improve the release of the arrow from the bow. One type of arrow rest is a stationary arrow rest, and another type is a “drop away” arrow rest, where the arrow rest is rotatable and has a resting location in which the arrow is located when the user is not ready to discharge the arrow, and a set of guides for supporting the arrow in the firing position when the user has drawn the bow. Upon release, the arrow rest rotates out of the way the instant the arrow fires such that the arrow rest no longer supports the arrow. In this manner, the arrow discharges from the bow without any friction from the arrow rest. However, one of the drawbacks to using this type of arrow rest is that when the arrow is placed in the resting location, there is nothing which supports the arrow to maintain the position of the arrow in the resting location when the bow is rotated, or moved. This results in the arrow being susceptible to becoming dislodged out of the firing ready position of the arrow rest, or the arrow may fall off entirely due to this dislodgement, which is considered undesirable by most who use a bow and arrow for activities such as target practice and hunting because there are often situations where it is desired to mount the arrow to the bow and leave the arrow in the bow for extended periods of time.
For example, when hunting, there are often situations where extended periods of time will pass before there is an opportunity for a clear shot at the animal being hunted. It is also desirable to make as little noise as possible in the woods so as not to provide the animal being hunted with any notice of the presence of the hunter. The hunter will often place an arrow onto the bow to have the bow and arrow ready when the opportunity is presented to avoid having to place the arrow onto the bow when the animal is within shooting range (thus avoiding making any unnecessary noise). However, when using the arrow rest as described above, the hunter must keep the bow in an upright position to prevent the arrow from becoming dislodged from the resting, fire ready position. Typically, a bow will rest on the user's lap and the arrow will not be in a fire ready position. The bow may also be hung from a hook, where the bow needs to tilt in order for the bow to be placed onto and removed from the hook. As this occurs, the arrow can become dislodged.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an arrow holder which is operable with a drop away arrow rest, but which also holds the arrow securely in a “fire ready” position.